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Preview: Nissan Titan XD is a whole lot of truck

The 2016 version rides somewhere between a light-duty and a full-size pickup.

From a design perspective, the Titan XD was meant to convey an impression of strength. The large grille and prominent headlamps are meant to give the truck an air of a warrior. (Lee Bailie)

Like its predecessor, the Titan XD is big on in-bed storage and versatility. Its storage boxes are designed to work with tonneau covers and camper shells. They're lockable, waterproof, drainable and removable. (Lee Bailie)

The Nissan Titan XD full lineup will eventually include three cab configurations, two frame sizes, two powertrains and five trim levels. (Courtesy Nissan)

The XD’s interior is enormous, nicely finished and chock full of well-designed utility. (Courtesy Nissan)

Nissan Nissan designers have made the most of the available space in the Titan XD. (Courtesy Nissan)

Nissan has wisely chosen to avoid trying to out-cowboy the domestics by giving the Titan XD a powerful warrior-type look designed to invoke an impression of size and strength. (Courtesy Nissan)

The Nissan Titan XD is a well-engineered truck, loaded with useful and innovative features, including the spray-in bedliner, Utili-track bed channel tie-down system and bedside storage. (Courtesy Nissan)

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Let’s get this out of the way at the outset: the all-new Nissan Titan XD is a tweener.

What I mean by that is it’s a heavier light-duty truck that falls in between the half-ton and three-quarter ton classes of full-size pickup.

Essentially, Nissan is positioning the Titan XD to have more of the capability found in the latter, combined with the road manners and driveability of the former.

As most of us know by now, the full-size truck market is a very lucrative one in North America, where the bestselling vehicles in both Canada and the U.S. have been trucks for decades.

The Titan nameplate isn’t new. Nissan has been building the outgoing model in its Mississippi plant for more than a decade, but after 11 years, its sales numbers have fallen off.

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In 2015, Nissan sold a little more than 12,000 Titans in the U.S., and just over 3,000 in Canada, figures that were dwarfed not only by offerings from Ford, GM and Ram, but also by Nissan’s own mid-size Frontier pickup. In fact, the aging Frontier outsold the Titan by a factor of five in the U.S.

The Titan is a truck in need of a reboot.

The early production XDs I drove in Arizona were all crew cab versions, equipped with a 5.0-litre Cummins turbo diesel V8 mated to an Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission.

Before I go any further, a note on Nissan’s master plan for the Titan family. The full lineup will eventually include three cab configurations, two frame sizes, two powertrains and five trim levels.

The XD will eventually be joined by a gas-powered Titan that will be smaller than its heavier-duty stablemate. And the XD will ride on a wheelbase (3,850.6 mm) that will be about 508 mm longer than that of the regular Titan.

Mechanically, the XD ticks a lot of the boxes truck buyers will approve of, starting with the Cummins engine. Made of a compacted graphite iron block with a forged steel crankshaft and aluminum heads, the Cummins 5.0-litre V8 tips the scales at just 362 kilograms. It features Cummins’s new M2 two-stage turbocharging system which is designed to work well at both low- and high-engine speeds.

A high-pressure fuel system from Bosch featuring piezo fuel injectors allow for precise fuel control for optimized combustion, which helps to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

The engine delivers 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, which bodes well for towing, which has a maximum rating of 5,460 kg, to go along with a maximum payload of 908 kg.

Under the skin, Nissan appears to have done its homework in building a rigid, durable backbone for the Titan XD to ride on. Its platform is shared with Nissan’s NV2500 full-size cargo van and features a fully boxed steel ladder frame that has been reinforced for greater stiffness.

A double-wishbone with a stabilizer bar forms the reinforced front suspension that’s tuned for hard use, while the rear utilizes heavy duty leaf springs and leaf bushings. A 13-inch rear differential features 3.5-inch axle tubes, while the front differential is 9.25 inches long. All Canadian-market XDs are 4x4.

The XD comes standard with four-wheel disc brakes that are 360 mm in diameter up front and 365 mm in the rear. The 17-inch wheels are standard, but 18- and 20-inch sizes are available.

Nissan has wisely chosen to avoid trying to out-cowboy the domestics by giving the XD a powerful warrior-type look designed to invoke an impression of size and strength.

So while there is a lot of bright work on certain trims, especially the high-end Platinum Reserve, you won’t see any Texas-inspired belt buckles or other homages to the American West here.

While in Arizona, I was able to sample the SL, PRO-4X (off-road) and Platinum Reserve models on a mix of on- and off-road drive routes that also involved towing a 4,082 kg, enclosed car trailer. A few things stand out from my time spent behind the wheel.

The XD’s interior is enormous, nicely finished and chock full of well-designed utility. From a giant centre console capable of swallowing a 15-inch laptop whole, to multiple 12-volt outlets, to more cup holders than you can count on two hands, along with various other pockets and storage cubbies, Nissan designers have made the most of the available space.

The Cummins engine is much quieter, both at speed on the highway and in slower city traffic. The oft-cited ‘diesel clatter,’ while still detectable — especially under acceleration — was well suppressed. Better insulation is key here, especially the use of laminated front side glass that helps cut down wind and road noise.

Towing appears to be a real strength thanks to the presence of trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller and downhill speed control, which essentially amounts to engine braking. Towing the 4,000-plus kg car trailer up and down a long and winding stretch of highway proved to be a drama-free exercise.

The 6-speed Aisin heavy-duty transmission seems ideally matched with the Cummins engine. Power delivery was smooth, both truck and trailer felt planted on the road and the downhill speed control was easy to modulate with judicious braking and acceleration.

The Titan XD is a well-engineered truck, loaded with useful and innovative features, including the spray-in bedliner, Utili-track bed channel tie-down system and bedside storage.

I could go on, but you get the idea. The Titan XD is a lot of truck for the money, but the real question is how big is the market for a more capable half-ton pickup?

The answer to that question will go a long way in determining its long-term success.

INTERIOR: The Titan XD’s interior is nicely finished and comfortable, with plenty of room for people and their stuff. Nissan designers went out of their way to think of useful storage options and it really shows.

PERFORMANCE: Nissan has done their homework in partnering with Cummins, a known quantity in the full-size truck game. The Titan XD delivers plenty of towing and hauling capability with a good ride to boot.

TECHNOLOGY: The Around View Monitor borrowed from other Nissan products is great for backing up, and the one-person Trailer Light Check System is brilliant.

WHAT YOU WILL LIKE ABOUT THIS TRUCK: A fresh design, combined with impressive power and capability and lots of useful, innovative features.

WHAT YOU WON’T LIKE ABOUT THIS TRUCK: It’s relatively expensive. I realize the smaller cabs will cost less, as will the regular Titan, but $52,000-plus is a pretty steep entry point for a truck.

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